The Menu

Caterer: Carrabba's Italian Grill

Salad & Bread

Entree Number One: Sirloin Marsala

Entree Number Two: Chicken Bryan

Kids Plate

Wedding Hotdogs

When Isaac was younger he was the ring bearer in his aunt's wedding. It can be difficult trying to get a 6yr old boy excited about a wedding. Mike and I showed him videos of ring bearers on you tube and told him what an important job it was. He was impressed, but not truly excited.

Until one day he asked:
What happens at a wedding?
Well, they'll promise to be together forever and give each other rings.
Is that it?
No, after that there will be a big party.
Oh! With cake?
Yes, there will be a cake, but no candles.
Will there be hotdogs? (he says hotdogs like it's something amazing)
(I found the thought of wedding hotdogs hilarious. It took me a minute to stop laughing) No, buddy, but there will be other food. People don't usually eat hotdogs at weddings.
Why not!
Well, they just don't and beside they are vegetarians.

More than once when discussing catering I thought of wedding hotdogs and smiled. We are (I'm sure to some 6yr olds chagrin) not having hotdogs. We decided to look into (duh!) seeing if our favorite restaurant, which happens to be next door to our venue, would serve our favorite dishes. We had assumed we couldn't afford them and then, low and behold they were more reasonable than a catering company.

Carrabba's will be serving chicken bryan and sirloin marsala along with sides, salad and bread buffet style. They're also serving chicken fingers with pasta as a side for the kiddos. They have been amazing to deal with and I absolutely can not wait! It's a very good example of not getting yourself all caught up in the "wedding box." Sometimes you have to open your mind to hit on the obvious choice.

yum...

Now We're Cooking With Gas!

I met with the venue (see updated Vendors tab) today. I read and re-read all the literature, my notes from the initial meeting and their weddingwire.com reviews to make sure I knew what I needed to ask. I scrawled all my question onto the worksheets in my planner and liberated them from the binder. I was ready. I was nervous. I was excited.

I wanted to be there when they opened, but much like the process of getting down there with the deposit, I was delayed. At least this time it was hours instead of months. I got there late in the afternoon with lots of questions, my checkbook and my mom (for moral support). I was greeted warmly, but it turned out the event manager had an appointment in a few minutes. I confidently replied that I didn't have an appointment and I'd like to go up to the reception room and take pictures in the meantime. She showed us up to the reception space and left us to it. I remembered the room being smaller because I saw it with all the tables set up last time. I was glad to have seen it as a blank slate this time. We took tons of pictures and marveled at the view. I was 100% confident in the space before, but now so was my mom. I was worried we'd have to kill time for a while before we could get down to business, but the bride with the appointment was pretty late and I was there so, I won.

N., the assistant event manager, laughed at my energy and decisive statements. She didn't bat an eyelash at any of my odd requests or ideas. I calmly went down each list of questions, taking notes as she answered. It was a little stressful knowing I'd have to recount every detail to Mike later. My memory's good, but the adrenaline was pumping hence the notes. When I was done she remarked "you're the most organized bride I ever seen." Way to go, me! I was relieved to get a date with significance to us, for a good rate. I was super relieved that our one and only source of concern was a non-issue. In general the whole experience was a huge relief. Phew!

I know that a few of my decisions will require a family press conference to explain, but it is my wedding. I am thrilled with my choices so far. I also got a return phone call from the caterer last night and they're in! Now if everything else goes south we have a place to be and an amazing dinner! I'm really on a roll now. The emails are flying now. It won't be long before all these pesky water fowl are in linear formations. Go, team!

Because we have labored long and hard over save the dates I won't be sharing the date at this time, but rest assured friends and family you'll see those amoung the junk mail and bills in the next week or so (finally!). I had a good day and checked off some major items on the to-do list, but the best part was when I was signing the contract:
"Go ahead, sign and date. We'll be your witnesses. Your title is bride."
"That's right!"